This section of the website holds several resources designed to help people grow as Christians. The ones listed below are in the order they were posted. For an alphabetical listing see the Table of Contents box to the right:

In this article, "snares" refer to the challenges of navigating the evil parts of life. For example, how do we deal with unbalanced wealth, where lies pass for alternative facts, where racism is rising, where dysfunctional and corrupt politics prevail, and where we’ve degraded “our common home” to the precipice. Fortunately, God provided an epiphany, a strategy for our times.

It took me 50 years to write this article. It is my best attempt to describe the romance God wants to have with every human and provides a roadmap on how to experience this life of intimacy with our Creator.

This teaching describes my understanding of the theology of men and women. It unpacks the Genesis 1-3 story, then analyzes Jesus actions and teaching in the gospels, and finishes up by looking at gender in the early church (by browsing through Acts and looking deeper at the teachings of Saints Peter and Paul.

Parishioners welcome new resources that help them move beyond sending lists of needs to God. Pastors continually look for fresh material for that teachable moment just before the weekly worship prayer time. So whether you are a parishioner or a pastor, here are some fresh resources on prayer:

This post, subtitled "The Personal Journey Toward Christlikeness" is the first of a series of web pages I intend to write about the process God uses to grow us up in Christian faith. Next, I intend to post on the "Marks of Christlikeness." Then I'll post Beyond Conversion - 2 on this life lived in a Christian community. And finally, I expect to post Beyond Conversion - 3 to deal with living this life in the broader world, or as Pope Francis calls it, Our Common Home."

This is a simple invitation to follow Jesus. It's useful for Christians who are looking for a fresh way to articulate the Good News to someone in their network. And it's useful for people who are considering Christian faith.

One of the more delightful things that God taught me in the middle of my industrial career was to pray for my coworkers and our projects. A key element of this was a list of scriptures that framed the 25-minute morning commute.

In this post, I describe a 3-step framework for resolving conflict "like an adult." It is based on Matthew 18 and fits modern churches quite well. With only minor modification, it also serves secular settings, even including the modern workplace.

Disappointments, insecurities, and shame stifle our joy and fruitfulness. Such feelings can stem from many things. Regardless of the origin, we desire freedom to lead a joyful, productive life. If you identify with this need, please check out this link.

This section will eventually present material from various contemporary authors who write about the intersection of science and religion. The first entry is now posted on the page and it is "Can Religion be Based on Evidence," by Dr. Aron Wall.

Previously this was labeled "Evangelism for the Rest of Us." This teaching is my approach to personal evangelism. I began developing these concepts while I was working in industry, and they became my mainstream way of interacting with unchurched people.

This resource overviews the concepts of giving a tithe, general offerings, and designated (special or restricted) offerings. It provides advice to those who are delinquent on their debts, and those who are in a marriage where one partner does not want to donate. It provides perspective on dealing with issues such as tithing on Social Security payments and withdrawal of funds from retirement accounts. It also offers some advice on dealing with teenagers regarding financial stewardship.

Sometimes sexually active couples would ask me to officiate at their wedding, or want an active role in ministry within the church, or want help with their romantic relationship. After two early experiences forced me to think through premarriage sexuality I wrote this resource. Over the years I gave it to every premarriage couple I counseled, whether I thought they were sexually active or not. And I talked to them about it. I never looked forward to this conversation, but I was always glad God gave me the courage to have it. As time went on I discovered a few situations to use this material outside premarriage counseling. So, I offer it to you.One last thing: yes, I know that at least some couples followed this advice.

Transforming Partnerships is a resource for men of all ages who want to grow strong in Christian faith. While I don't have any first-hand experience of it with women, I'm sure it is also a good fit for many Christian women. The concept is for two people to form a Transforming Partnership, or three to form a Transforming Triad, or four to form a Transforming Quad. While it includes an element of accountability, the real transforming agent is God's grace.

This resource flows from my understanding of how authentic Christians live at postal addresses in the secular cultures of today's world, but we live as citizens of a different world order. The key to this life is living ordinary, but living them differently, and living them in a Fellowship of Believers at the heart of a local church.

If you sense God may be inviting you to lead a Bible study or teach a Sunday School class, this resources is a must read. Even if you are an experienced teacher, you will find help here. If you are a Christian leader invested in recruiting and training Bible study or Sunday School class leaders, this is a resource you'll want to pass along to them.

This is written for people who are inquiring about the Christian faith: what it is and how to connect with it. Also, it's a good refresher, especially for a Christian who wants to share the Christian faith with a friend, relative, associate or neighbor (a FRAN).

This short teaching got a lot of use at New Life. I used it to prepare believers for baptism. It also helps sort out the issues of infant baptism (vs. dedication) and other differences in baptism across Christian traditions.

Sooner or later every church visitor will show up in a communion service. While these are very meaningful to the mature Christian, they are a bit strange to the person just coming in from a life in the kingdoms of this world. So I wrote this short teaching to help the newcomers understand what Communion is about, and as a refresher for the rest of us.

Whenever a person first becomes a Christian I have learned to expect that they will be bombarded with temptations. Satan just doesn't want to let go of one of his people. So early in the discipleship process, it seems important to do a little teaching on overcoming temptation. And it never does the rest of us any harm, either.

Protestants tend to have a rather skewed understanding of confession. But confession is as Christian as salvation or baptism or communion. We will have a need for confession throughout our lives, so we do well when we learn how to practice it.

Many people are addicted to destructive and sinful habits. Some of these are embarrassing, and other bad habits get rewarded in the kingdoms of this world. Part of the human problem is recognizing and admitting that we are addicted to something, and another part is getting free.

There are plenty of "enlightened" people who think they can live the Christian life in isolation from a local church. They believe they can love Christ without loving his church. This is a strange position to take, to love someone but have an aversion to something that person loves. Scripture is clear, Christ loved the church so much that he died for her. So it is quite understandable to discover that God expects all Christ's followers to have a love-affair with the local church.